Wall structure



March 17, 1931. J. A. MCGREGOR 1397,0110

WALL STRUCTURE Filed July 5, 1928 Patented Mar. 17, 1931 JAMES A. MCGBEGOR, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO WALL STRUCTURE Application filed July 5, 1928.

This invention relates to wall structures and has for its object to provide a sheathing for walls which has a surface formed of vitreous enamel, providing a wall of attractive appearance which can be easily kept clean and which will retain its original lustre for a long period of time.

I A further object is to provide a vitreous enamel wall surface by means of wall boards which have a body of composition material covered on its outer face with a relatively thin sheet metal plate which is adhesively secured to the composition body and which has a coating of vitreous enamel baked thereon.

A further object is to provide a wall board which has a vitreous enamel surface which can be readily nailed in place on the wall.

A further object is to provide cover strips which may be secured over the adjoining edges of the wall boards to conceal the nailed edges.

A further object is to provide a cover strip formed of sheet metal which may be coated with'vitreous enamel, together with means by which the strips may be quickly and easily attached to the wall.

WVith the above and other objects in view, the invention may be said to comprise the device as illustrated in the accompanying drawings hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims, toether with such variations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one cated at H in Fig. 3.

of a wall skilled in the art to which the invention ap- Serial No. 290,328.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the clips employed for securing the cover strips in place. I

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a cover strip.

, Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale showing the vitreous enamel coating on the panel and retaining strip.

Fig. 1 of the drawing shows a wall board which is composed of a body 1 of composition material and sheet metal face plate 2 which has baked thereon a coating 3 of vitreous enamel.

A flat sheet of steel coated with vitreous enamel is always distorted to some extent, having bulges or warps due to the high heat to which it is subjected in the enameling oven. In order to atten the enameled plate 2 and uniformly secure'it to the face of the composition body 1, the composition body with the enameled plate thereon and with a suitable adhesive between the plate and body is subjected to pressure in any suitable manner to flatten the plate against the composition body and cause the composition body and the face plate to be in engagement throughout the entire extent thereof. The flattening of the plate against the composition body to cause adhesion throughout may be effected by means of pressure rollers or may be accomplished by means of press members, such as the members t and 5 shown in Fig. 2.

A suitable adhesive coating is placed between the plate 2 and the composition body 1 and the plate is pressed upon the body with considerable pressure. After the vitreous enameled sheet has been secured to the composition body, it is held in place not only by the adhesive, but by a certain amount of suc tion, since the metal sheet due to its resiliency tends to bulge and rise away from the composition body, the plate by its resiliency tending to assume its original form. This tendency, however, is overcome by suction, due to the fact that the sheet is flat and substantially no air is present between the plate and composition body. while various attaching devices may be employed for securing the wall board in place on the wall, it is preferred to secure the same to the wall structure by nailing. Since perforation of the enameled face plate causes chipping or cracking of the enamel, it is impractical to nail through the face plateand the face plate is preferably formed of less width and length than the composition body 1 so as to provide a nailing strip 6 along the marginal edges of the body so that the boa-rd may be secured to the body member 7 of the wall by means of nails 8 driven through the marginal portion 6 outside the edges of the enameled plate 2.

In order to conceal the marginal edges of the wall boards, suitable cover strips 9 are provided which are of a width to overlap the adjacent edges of the wall boards and conceal-the nailed portions thereof. The sealing strip 9 is preferably made of sheet metal and may have a coating of vitreous enamel baked thereon of the same or of a different color than the enamel of the face plate 2, thus providing an attractive paneled wall which may be kept bright and clean by washing and which will retain its original lustre for a long period of time.

The sheet metal cover strip 9 has an inwardly projecting positioning flange 10 which is adapted to fit against an edge of one of the adjoining wall boards and also with a fastening flange 11 which is positioned alongside the flange 10 and provided with a longitudinal retaining rib 12, the outer edge portion 13 of the flange being inclined away from the flange 10 for a purpose which will be later described. The adjoining edges of the wall boards are spaced apart sufficiently to receive between them angle shaped retain ing clips 15 which are secured to the wall members 7 by means of nails 16. The clips 15 are secured at suitably spaced points along the length of each joint to be covered by a cover strip and each clip is provided with an outwardly extending flange 17 which is bent to provide a transverse groove 18 of a shape to receive and conform to the rib 12 on the fastening flange 11 of the cover strip. The flanges 17 of the clips and the continuous attaching flange 13 of the cover strip are resilient and laterally flexible and the outer edge 19 of the outwardly projecting flanges of the clips are rounded to engage the inclined edge portion of the attaching flange to deflect the rib of the attaching flange sufficiently to permit the flange 11 to be moved inwardly into interlocking engagement with the clips.

It will also be seen that if desired, the wall boards with enameled metal covering may be disposed on the wall with their edge portions substantially in abutment without leaving spaces between for the sealing strips described above. In this instance, suitable covering strips may be provided to cover the adjacent edge portions of the wall board which substantially abut and these strips may be'secured by any suitable fastening means to the wall structure.

It will be apparent that the wall covering 7 of the present invention can be quickly and easily applied to a wall and provides a sanitary wall very attractive in appearance in which the major portion of the wall surface or the entire wall surface is of vitreous enamel which is easily cleaned and which does not tarnish or lose its original lustre.

} Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular form of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth, are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

lVha-t I claim is:

1. In a wall structure, wall boards each composed of a composition body and a metal face plate having a baked on coating of vitreous enamel and adhesively secured to the composition body, said plate having its edges spaced inwardly from the edges of the body to provide narrow nailing strips along the st ges of theboard, said boards being nailed to the wall structure along said edges and arranged with narrow spaces between adjoining edges, resilient metal clips secured to the wall structure in the spaces between adjoining wall boards, cover strips overlving the nailing strip of the adjacent Wall board, and resilient members projecting inwardly from the strips and having inter locking engagement with said clips.

2. In a wall structure, wall boards each composed of a composition body, a metal face plate coated with vitreous enamel and adlie'sively secured to the composition body, said plate having its edges spaced inwardly from the edges of said body to provide nailing strips along the edges of the board. said boards being nailed to the wall structure along said edges,"and arranged with narrow spaces between said edges, angle shaped metal clips secured at intervals between adjoining edges of the wall boards. each clip having an outwardly extending flange provided with a transverse groove, and cover strips formed of sheet metal. overlying the spaces between wall boards and the nailing strips at the edges of said boards. each strip having an inwardly projecting positioning flange engageable with an edge of the wall board and a resilient flange spaced from the positioning flange and provided with a longitudinal rib for locking engagement with the grooves of said clips.

3. In a wall structure, wall boards arranged edge to edge, each wall board comprising a composition body and a sheet metal covering plate secured upon the composition body and coated with vitreous enamel, and

flu

amel covering the adjoining edges of the Wall boards and the edges of the enameled plates. In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JAMES A. MCGREGOR. 

